


An Idea And A Meeting

by Friendlylycanthrope



Series: Let's Talk About It [15]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra Redemption, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24296284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Friendlylycanthrope/pseuds/Friendlylycanthrope
Summary: Catra needs a new project to work on. Well, maybe she doesn't need it, but this project needed her to work on it.
Relationships: Adora/Catra, Adora/Glimmer
Series: Let's Talk About It [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714624
Comments: 11
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be quite important to the Catra redemption arc I have planned. Was going to be a chapter 2 to the last piece, but decided it needed its own work.

  
  


When Catra saw Adora again, it was on the balcony in Adora’s room. She was surprised to find her still there in her room after the night they had had, and avoided her post-workout shower to go talk to her. 

The morning moon was still rising, and the day was still cool with the smell of night air. The very tip of Catra’s tail flicked around, as she was in deep thought. She rested her elbows on the railing and looked out over the woods as she whittled a piece of wood. 

“What are you working on there?” Adora asked as she joined her by the railing. The wood was still blocky and crude, but Adora could see the pencil lines sketched onto it in the shape of a winged horse. Catra pointed her knife down at the meadow of the castle, where the horses used to graze before Swift Wind freed them. Now, it was just Swiftwind, happily grazing without thinking that he was being watched or sculpted.

“He’s pretty weird, I haven’t seen anything else like him.” Catra said coolly. Adora smiled. She had waited a long time to see this side of Catra, the kind with no bitterness and hatred, where she could let her walls down. 

“Well, probably because there is nothing else like him.” Adora said. “My first day here I wasn’t sure how to use the sword and kind of accidentally transformed him from a horse into...uh...” What was he? Part unicorn, part pegasus, she wasn’t even sure if there was a word.

“Into a communist?” Catra offered. It got the reaction she was hoping for out of Adora, she snorted with laughter as she clutched her sides. When she calmed down, they both went back to looking over the pasture, while Catra carved little curls of wood off the block that fell down into the wind. 

“So whittling huh?” Adora said awkwardly. “When did that start?”

“Oh, I met a crazy old witch in the woods. We have a lot in common.” Catra said slyly, knowing that curiosity would get the best of Adora, since it was clear that Adora knew Razz. “But really, it helps me think straight. It’s easier to focus.”

“Oh... so is there something on your mind? Is it about what happened last night?”

Catra sighed as she turned around to lean her back against the railing while resting her elbows.

“I guess so. I’ve been rethinking what I really want.”

“Like, for lunch?” Adora asked quizzically. Catra snorted. 

“No, like, more long term than that.”

“So like... dinner?”

“Oh knock off it!” Catra chuckled, lightly shoving Adora’s arm. 

“Okay so what is it that you want?”

“Okay. So step one: kill Shadow Weaver.” Catra said, turning back around towards the meadow. “Like for real super dead. No prison, no reform. That’s the only way that we’ll really be free of her influence. Otherwise I’m not going to be able to sleep at night, thinking she’s still trying to hurt us.”

Adora nodded, but was still hesitant to the extremity of the idea.

“Maybe if we kill her, it will stop her stupid spells and you can get your memories back.” Catra added as an afterthought. Adora’s eyes lit up and she stood straight.

“Do you think so?”

“I don’t know... I don’t know anything about magic but if she’s gone, then maybe it will release the power she had over you.” Catra resumed whittling, taking away the wood that stood between the legs that she had sketched. “Right now she’s rotting in a prison in the Fright Zone. But I don’t trust her. She’s going to try and weasel her way into Hordak’s favor, claw power away from anyone or anything she can get her hands on. Not to mention her dark magic.”

“Even though she’s powerless?”

“I cut her off from her connection to the black garnet. But that doesn’t mean she’s powerless. She can talk anyone into doing anything, and we don’t know what magic she still has left in her from before the black garnet. She’s smart, she would just bide her time and build on that power, manipulate people to help her, and wait to strike when she’s actually needed by Hordak.”

“But what if she really is just... helpless?” Catra shook her head. 

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not taking that chance. She needs to go, permanently. Before she can prove us wrong.”

Adora nodded again and looked off to the horizon. 

“Before she can use her power to hurt anyone else... Nobody should have to go through what we did. What you did.” Adora said after a while. 

Catra hadn’t considered that angle before. It was true, even just with her words, she could tear people and empires apart. And what they went through as children, it was cruel and unnecessary. She would never be past the pain that the witch had inflicted on her, both in the lightning shaped scars under her shirt or her damaged heart and mind that refused to accept any feeling of safety. Adora put a comforting hand on Catra’s wrist.

“Nobody should have to experience what we did, growing up or after.” She said with determination. 

“Okay... what are you saying?”

“I left because I realized the horde was hurting innocent people. But I never realized that the _first_ innocent people that they hurt were in their own ranks. I haven’t stopped feeling guilt or dread about that ever since you made me realize that I couldn’t protect you. We should have left long ago. But then they would still be hurting innocent kids, turning them into child soldiers.”

“I guess that’s true. But there’s nothing we can do about that, not without taking out the whole horde. People get hurt, they grow up, and they hurt other people.”

“Not unless we break the cycle.” Adora said with growing anticipation. She was onto something, it was on the tip of her tongue. “What if we saved all the cadets in the horde? So that they wouldn’t have to get hurt. Then Hordak would be missing a huge chunk of his army.”

“Are you crazy?” Catra said, ears pointing forward at Adora. “There are hundreds of cadets in the horde, there’s no way we could convince all of them to defect. Plus the ones that stay will be punished even more, just like Shadow Weaver did to me when you left.”

Remorse crossed Adora’s face, and she hesitated. Catra sighed. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” She said softly. She put the knife back in her pocket and put the block of wood on the railing so she could run a hand through her hair. 

“I know... and I never meant to do anything that would hurt you.” Adora said quietly. 

“I know.”

They both turned back to staring at the horizon, becoming brighter blues as the day moon continued to crawl upwards. Then Catra’s tail tip started twitching again.

“What are you thinking about?” Adora asked. Catra hesitated before answering. 

“Maybe there is a way that we can both get what we want...” Catra started. “But it’s going to take a lot of planning and hard work.”

“If you do the thinking parts, I’ll do the heavy lifting!” Adora offered immediately. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Catra and Adora were up all night making plans. They asked questions, pointed out flaws, found loopholes, and on more than one occasion had to scrap the entire plan and start from scratch. It was frustrating, beyond discouraging at times. It seemed hopeless until they came up with most of a plan. For the rest, they would need to consult the alliance. 

Catra and Adora entered the war room together to find that everyone else had already arrived, and upon their own entrance, everyone began to find their seats to begin. Everyone looked at Angella with confusion over why she had called the meeting. 

“Princesses, alliance members, thank you for coming.” She began cordially. “I know it has only been several weeks now since we have accepted the allegiance of Catra, but her work speaks for itself. We are turning the tide of the war. Which is why I trusted her when she asked me to assemble all of you.” All eyes turned to Catra, and she remained resolute in her seat, stalwart against the stares. It showed great strength that Adora admitted she would have lacked at the moment. “Catra, I understand you have some sort of plan. Please, illuminate us.” 

Catra stood and folded her hands behind her back, perfect military presentation form. 

“I’m planning on convincing all the cadets and at least a fraction of the active Horde army to defect all at once in a massive mutiny.” She declared. Gasps rang out, followed by murmurs.

“You don’t command them anymore, why would they do that?” Mermista challenged. “There’s no way you can pull it off without getting caught.”

“I have a contact on the inside... a double agent who will remain anonymous. She didn’t defect with me but it was thanks to her that I was able to escape. Through her, I can spread seeds of distrust throughout the horde’s ranks. I plan on breaking through their anti-princess propaganda by using you guys to help them see that life outside the horde is better, happier, and most of all, safer.”

********

“Catra, I’m so glad you’re safe. And are you happy? With the rebels?” Scorpia whispered, hardly able to keep herself contained out of excitement. Their secret rendezvous point was discreetly in no man’s land, neither rebel nor horde affiliated. Both kept their faces covered, in case the fishermen in the smugglers den decided they wanted to eavesdrop.

“I didn’t think I would fit in at first, but yeah. Things are going well.” Catra had called the meeting, just like she had done many times with Adora when she was still the second in command. “I’m working on a new project.”

“Whatever it is, I’m in.” Scorpia immediately agreed. 

Catra smiled, her fangs showing under her hood.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I knew I could trust you. It’s going to involve making and distributing a lot of pamphlets.”

“What is it that you’re planning?”

“We’re going to plant seeds that the horde is bad into the minds of as many people as we can. Soon they’ll grow when they realize that life outside the horde isn’t what they said it was. Then, we strike.”

“A takeover?”

“No... I’m saving them, not conquering them. It was all Adora’s idea, believe it or not...”

“Something tells me you were the brains behind all this.” Scorpia smirked knowingly. 

“Point is, I’m giving everyone in the horde a chance to escape, and get to something better. And it almost all pivots as you being my eyes on the inside.”

********

“Using us?” Nettossa said with distaste. “What exactly did you have in mind?” She said suspiciously. 

“In order to understand that, you need to know some things about life in the horde.” Adora claimed. Then she waved her hand and several dozens of data files appeared over the table. “I’ve compiled a guide for each of you to help you understand.” 

The princesses all started browsing the files, skimming the details, as Catra continued. 

“The horde army is always made to believe that they are the good guys, and that they have freedom. But it was all a lie.” Catra said as she paced around the table. “They gave us the freedom to do extracurricular activities. We got to do volunteer hours with our spare time. We were even allowed to date as long as there was no fraternizing. And the reason that they put up with pasty nutrition bars and barracks and drill sergeants is because they think that they’re choosing to stay with the horde.”

“But why?” Frosta asked. 

“Because they were told that life outside the horde is worse. No food, no shelter, constant battles, no medical aid, and vicious wild animals not to mention the bloodthirsty princesses.”

“Yeah, doesn’t sound like they really fact-checked...” said Mermista as she scrolled through a file in front of her. It was a copy of the horde anthem, which highlighted the horde as a force of peacekeeping against the princesses, who were hungry for land and power at the expense of their own people. “This all sounds super fascist if you really look at it though.”

“We thought it was our only option.” Adora said sadly. “But really, they told us things that would make us think it was the only good option. When in reality, they never would have let us leave. I’m proof of it. Every time I tried to dissent, I would get reconditioned by Shadow Weaver and have my memories altered so that I stayed loyal.”

It was the first that the other princesses had heard of Adora’s dilemma, and they gasped, some in shock and some with pity. Adora and Catra shared a knowing look, and tried to find strength in each other. Glimmer reached over and squeezed Adora’s hand encouragingly. 

“Wait, slow down.” Perfuma said. “What does this have to do with mutiny?”

“I’m glad you asked, Perfuma, because you have an integral role in my plan if we want to show the cadets that things are better.” Catra said. Perfuma looked shocked and flustered. “All they’ve ever eaten before is artificially made bars with protein and nutrients. One of the first things we have to do in order to gain their trust is to show them a sign of goodwill. Otherwise they won’t even listen to us.”

“And that would be...?” Perfuma asked nervously. Catra nodded at Adora, and with a smile, Adora changed the projection on the table to display a nutrition chart that held data for various produce. Holographic fruits popped up around the table. 

“Food.” Catra said confidently. “Specifically, something that is easy to transport in secret, something sweet but not too overwhelming, that can be eaten easily by someone who’s never seen it before: Fruit.”

**********

Scorpia bit into the banana and processed it in her mouth until she swallowed it. Then, smiling, she handed the banana over to a drill sergeant, who was skeptical.

“Totally safe.” She assured. “And delicious. It’s even good for you too.”

The drill sergeant took the banana, and took the smallest, most hesitant bite she could muster up the courage for. But as soon as she tasted the creamy texture and sweet aromas rolling around in her mouth, she found herself taking another bite. Her eyes lit up with sensations she didn’t know even existed before, but now she knew she would crave more of it.

“I don’t know how they keep sending so many different things.” She mumbled with her mouthful. “This is way better than the ones from last week!”

“Remember to save some for the rest of the battalion!” Scorpia teased. “The soldiers have worked hard for this shipment!”

Scorpia was a dealer of contraband food in her own criminal underworld within the horde. She almost immediately earned respect from everyone who knew her, and now her network was spread so wide for the love of fruits that she had to ask Catra and Perfuma to double their shipments. It was becoming easier to move the cargo crates--disguised with stun batons on the top layer to throw off customs--from Catra’s boat to Scorpia’s truck. Rather than work her way up, she started in the middle ranks, and let the commanding officers distribute the banned foods to their underlings. If there was one thing that force captains hated, it was being told how to do their job from other force captains. And now she had a supply chain that was so eager to get their hands on fruits, that they were even offering up their services and intel to feed the rebellion in exchange for the healthy snacks.

**********

“You think that giving the horde a supply of fruit will make them change their minds?” Angella asked. She was enraptured by the plan, and was wanting for it to work, but needed questions answered before she had total confidence. 

“When we first showed Adora food from outside the horde, she couldn’t stop inhaling everything we put in front of her.” Glimmer said. “Whatever they get in the horde, it isn’t enough, and they’re constantly worried it could be taken away as punishment.” Adora nodded in confirmation. 

“We were told that the people living under the princesses were starving, since princesses hoarded all the wealth and goods for themselves. We thought that if we wanted to eat, we had to stay with the horde.”

“This will let people open up to our ideas and let us have a conversation.” Catra explained. “Or more accurately, the contact on the inside. Who shall remain anonymous. Perfuma, you would be able to grow fruits out of nothing, just like you do with all plant life, so it wouldn’t be traced back to any of us or expend any of our existing resources. Which brings us to phase two.” Catra said. “Bow, you have technology that can record video and audio right?”

“My tracker pad?”

“Yes. If I get you in touch with Princess Entrapta, she can mess around with the controls and frequencies. She can help you make it untraceable. Then we can record videos and send them to her so she can circulate them around the ranks.”

***********

At the Fright Zone, a thunder storm raged against the walls of the barracks. But inside, the noise created a perfect opportunity to discreetly watch a video on a personal display device. A squad of cadets, almost old enough to graduate, huddled under the covers to obscure the light from the PDD they all watched. 

The video had the volume all the way down, while still being just barely audible. Even though there wasn’t much dialogue, they were enraptured by the scene. A princess waved her hand, and the tidal wave before her crashed to a halt as though frozen in time. Another one spread her arms and suddenly bountiful vines and roots appeared from the ground under her. But they never hurt anyone, only incapacitated the soldiers in their way. 

One cadet took out a green apple and cautiously, so slowly, crunched into it. All their squad swiveled around and  _ shushed _ him, but soon enough they were passing around the apple and taking bites out of it slowly, worried about being caught with the contraband. It was amazing, juicy and crisp and melting in their mouths and filling their bellies in a strange way that they never realized they had been lacking before. Not only that, but since they started getting natural vitamins instead of artificial ones, they felt stronger, more alert, sharper senses, sleeping better, clearer skin and shinier hair. It was the same with everyone who started eating fruit, and getting a recommendation from a soldier who never felt better was a pretty convincing argument to those who were hesitant.

They had to attend an assembly with their whole Unit of fifty cadets recently, where superior officers were growing suspicious of the moves of the princesses. They emphasized that princesses do not care to feed, house, or protect their people, and it was the job of the horde to put an end to their reign of terror. But here they were the next day, eating food that was shared with them out of goodwill for nothing in exchange. And on the screen, they were helping to save their people from the wrath of the horde. Everything they had been told was a lie.

***********

“Oh, just like our rebel recruiting video!” Bow said with excitement. “We can debunk their propaganda about the rebellion!”

“Exactly!” Adora said. “According to the horde, princesses accumulate all the wealth and resources and don’t share it with their people.”

“Again, like, communist fascism.” Mermista interjected. 

“They told us that the princesses were violent instigators who could hardly control their powers.” Adora continued, unbothered. “We can prove that the princesses defend their people and that it is safe to live among them outside of the Fright Zone.”

“Which is how we will convince everyone to mutiny and defect.” Catra said. “Which brings us to phase three.”

“The longer we recruit defectors, the more people we think we can convince.” Adora said. “Maybe even higher up in the ranks. So we’ll keep it under the radar until we’re ready to mobilize.”

“It will most likely be that someone is catching on to us.” Catra said. She signaled Adora to change the screen on the table again, and then a holographic map of the Fright Zone appeared before them. “If they do, we mobilize. Everyone who wants to leave will be instructed to wait for our signal. And on that signal, they mutiny and they run.”

“And what is the signal?” General Abner asked, studying the map. Adora and Catra smirked knowingly at each other, eating up the anticipation and proud of themselves for what they came up with, before looking back at the assembled war table.

“A prison break.” Catra said a little too happily. She snapped her fingers and the walls full of red boxes inside the horde prison turned green, and the model even opened all the little doors. Murmurs broke out across the table. 

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” 

“Exactly. Anyone the horde has locked down has got to be willing to riot against them if given the chance, maybe even defect to the rebellion. They’ve probably locked up anyone who wanted to defect ages ago, or have captured rebels. It’ll cause a huge distraction and tons of chaos. It’ll be the perfect opportunity for half of the horde army to defect.”

“Wait... what about this one?” Bow said, indicating the one little red door that didn’t open on the prison block. It seemed randomly placed in the center amongst all the other cells. Catra became more serious as her ears pulled back and her eyes narrowed.

“I will be taking care of that... when I arrive on site to personally handle the biggest threat after Hordak.”

“You must understand that this detail seems... suspicious.” Abner said, leaning forward.

“We trust you, but we would feel a lot more comfortable if everything were out in the open.” Perfuma added. Catra sat down and slouched low as she folded her hands in front of her face.

“I plan on using the mutiny and the riot to sneak in... and kill Shadow Weaver.” Catra leveled. Adora was surprised that Catra would be so candid about the plan they were up all night planning. She thought for sure that Catra would keep some secrets to herself. 

“I mean, sounds good to me.” Mermista said. “She was head honcho and super powerful, she needs to go down.”

“But are you sure, Catra?” Glimmer said. “I know that she hurt you and Adora, and I want her gone too. But killing the person who raised you might be easier said than done.”

“Trust me. I can handle it.”

“I too understand the deep seated hatred you must hold against the woman.” Angella said. She remembered her promise to Adora when she first arrived, that she would never let Shadow Weaver hurt her ever again. And yet, she felt conflicted. “However I must agree with my daughter. In the moment, it may seem more difficult than you anticipated to take a person’s life. Believe me, I want the same thing we all do. But if we murder people as cold and tactfully as they do, then how are we any different?”

“It’s just like how they took people from us.” Bow said sadly. “We’ve all lost people to the war... friends. Family ... Parents.” Catra scoffed. 

“She’s no parent of mine. And it _is_ different. Because unlike us, Shadow Weaver doesn’t have anybody that actually cares about her unless she’s manipulating them like toys in her stupid game to seize power for herself. I’m sure there would be massive celebration if news were to spread that she had perished under mysterious circumstances during all the commotion.”

“I agree.” Spinerella finally spoke up. “She may be problematic again later. Who knows.”

“Indeed, she may even fill the power vacuum created by several officers leaving, especially with Catra gone. Hordak will be looking for someone to trust and Shadow Weaver will play that to her advantage to gain more power.” Abner said.

“I don’t know...” Frosta said with uncertainty. “I haven’t been here long, but this seems more drastic than the usual stuff we do. I never thought I would have to...”

“I’m not asking you to.” Catra said gently. “That’s why I’m volunteering. I’ve been hardened by command in a way that none of you have been before. I won’t trust the news unless I see for myself that she really is dead.”

But still, doubts and conflictions echoed around the room in its silence. It was several minutes later before anyone was able to speak up.

“I trust her.” Glimmer said. “She’s saved Adora’s life on several counts. Not to mention the battles that she’s helped us win. The rebellion is closer than ever to winning the war since she switched sides. We should give her the opportunity at least.”

“Let us move past this detail for the time being.” Angella said. “Catra, if I know you as well as I think I do, there must be more to your plan.”

“Yeah like the one problem that seems to pop up if we do this," Netossa said, "Where the hell are all these defectors supposed to  _ go _ once they leave?” 

Adora zoomed out on the map until it covered most of Etheria.

“We were hoping that someone may have something to offer for that.” Adora said. “We would set them up in a basic refugee style camp, we would anticipate about a...couple hundred acres would be needed. Then they could be together for familiarity. Meanwhile, we could interview them all for details on horde operations, maybe even help them learn trade skills until they get on their feet. Hopefully we may even be able to reunite some of them with their families, or at the very least get them in touch with families who could care for the younger ones, like Renee and Ingrid did.”

“An adoption program?” Renee asked, a twinkle in her eye. 

“Something like that.” Adora said. “And for the rest who are adults or want to start a life, well, they can stay in the camp and create their own community, start a new life. Farm, learn a trade, start their own family.”

  
  


**********

Angella and Catra stood over a massive field of yellow grass. Their hilltop was the perfect place to watch the waves of grass shimmer as it bobbed in the breeze. A clear sky overhead made it even more picture perfect.

“It needs work.” Catra said. “A lot of work. We’re going to need a perimeter, a public building, some storage supplies, a school, a hospital, not to mention all the cabins...”

“Do you think it will be enough space?” Angella asked. Catra checked her digital pad, ran a few numbers around. 

“From what Scorpia reports, there will be about eighteen-thousand five hundred people looking for homes. Roughly.” She reported. She did some more math on the tablet, double checking the perimeter measures that she had been provided. “It should be enough, with a little bit of room to spare for growth. We’ll need to start immediately.” Angella nodded, and waved a thumb’s up to a construction crew on standby. With the signal, the machines revved up their engines and began their long project of preparing the land to be leveled and built upon.

**********

“I wholeheartedly agree with all these sentiments.” Angella said eagerly. It warmed her heart to see Adora, the abused and neglected child that she once took under her wing, using her gifts and experience to help others to have a better life than she did. “Which is why I offer land in Bright Moon.”

“Oh! Um, okay!” Catra said only a little bit taken aback. 

“Wow, are you sure?” Adora said at the same moment. In fact, everyone seemed pleasantly surprised at how much their Queen was willing to give on a whim, so quickly. Even Angella asked herself why she had volunteered so quickly, even though her heart told her to press on.

“If it is amenable to your plan, then I can happily provide some large swathes of unused land. After all Bright Moon is the largest of the kingdoms gathered here today, and with the most reasonable climate. This way it will be close to your home and base of operations, Catra.”

“Your Majesty,” Catra said in a rare moment of allowing herself to be genuine. “Thank you for your support. I won’t let you down.” She bowed at the hip, her body stiff. “I won’t soon forget this. You have my sincere thanks.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What everyone does after the meeting.

  
  


After the meeting, the Queen pulled Bow aside for a private word. Catra went back to her own room to try and find the best time and place to meet up with Scorpia. Adora and Glimmer lingered to catch up with the princesses.

When Adora and Glimmer did have a moment to themselves, walking back to Glimmer’s room, it was still late morning. They had the whole day ahead of them clear. 

“Adora?”

“Yeah?”

“Nothing, I just... I love you.” It was hardly the first time they said it. Even if Adora was bashful about pda, she was more than affectionate when they were in private. Adora took her hand as they walked together. 

“I love you too.” She echoed back. “Is something on your mind?” It wasn’t uncommon for the princess to reach out for Adora, her anchor through chaos, when she felt uncertain. Fortunately this wasn’t the case. 

“No I just... I guess I was thinking about how much has changed since you first got here. I’m really proud of you for coming up with this plan to save everyone else that grew up like you did.”

A dark look flickered across Adora’s expression for a moment, thinking of the way that the horde had hurt her, and Catra, and countless others. But she tried to bury it.

“Well, it wasn’t just me.” She ended up saying, using her free hand to rub her neck. “Catra came up with a lot of it.”

“I know, but something tells me she wouldn’t have gotten far without you.” She smiled back. They paused their conversation for a moment while they walked the castle together, enjoying the morning light dancing on the murals. “I talked to Catra the other night...” Glimmer said a little shyly. 

“Oh?”

“It’s nothing important really. I just wanted to know where you two stood.” Perhaps it was because of the things she hadn’t asked Catra more than the things that she did. The things Catra didn’t say, and the same things she wanted to ask Adora. 

“You said once that you loved her.” She blurted out. They stopped walking, and disconnected hands as Adora turned around to face Glimmer. Her face was red and her eyes looked concerned. “Do you think that...”

“I could still love her?” Adora finished. She tried to smile comfortingly at Glimmer. She took a deep breath, and stepped towards her girlfriend.

  
  


*

  
  


Meanwhile, Catra was about to put some red string up on pins on a map of Etheria. At least she was going to before she got distracted by the perfect little ball of red string, bouncing it around and playing with it. If anyone ever caught her playing with it, she would just as soon claw their tongues out to keep the secret. But she had never seen something so intriguing and entertaining before. Which is why, when there was a knock at the door, she startled and pushed all the string off of her desk and out of sight in a drawer before answering. 

“Ehr, come in!” She prompted. She was a little confused as to why Bow entered, alone, smiling nervously. 

“Hey Catra!” He waved. “How are you settling in?” Catra leaned back in her desk chair and raised an eyebrow. 

“Bowseph. Did you need something?”

“Uh, that’s not my name?” He shook his head and walked closer to her. “I was just wondering if you might be hungry. I was going to head over to the kitchen to grab a sandwich, and it seems like Adora and Glimmer are busy, so maybe we could eat together.”

Catra considered her ball of red yarn, but pushed the thought aside. She sighed dramatically to feign indifference as she rolled her eyes. 

“Sure, I guess.”

*

Adora and Glimmer sat in Glimmer’s bed. They frequently read or napped together, but today they talked. They did this a lot, about all the most carefree things, or the more serious matters that were bothering them, or about things that they thought about. From Adora’s mysterious past to Glimmer’s memories of her father, they talked about everything together way up high in that bed. 

Today, it was about love.

“It’s okay, Adora. You can tell me.”

“I know, it’s just, I feel like you might get upset.”

“Just tell me what you’re feeling first, and then we’ll figure it out.” Glimmer insisted calmly, even though she was starting to worry that based on Adora’s reaction, she may confess something that she didn’t want to hear. Adora took a deep breath and ordered her thoughts.

“Okay, so let me start with the facts.” She said, sitting up criss-cross. “One: I love you. I’m in love with you. I want to be with you.” She confessed. Even though they were dating for so long now, three years give or take, it still gave her butterflies to confess her feelings so candidly, and she blushed. It’s not like she hadn’t admit to it before, but it still gave her butterflies. Glimmer felt a swell of relief. She leaned back on her hands with her legs outstretched.

“Okay, don’t see how that would upset me.” She said calmly. Adora nodded before continuing. 

“Well that’s all that I know for certain. The rest is all.. Confusing theories and feeling stuff.” She admit.

“Adora, stop looking at it as facts and theories. Just think about it honestly, about how you really feel.” 

“I know, I’m just not used to this!” She groaned. In the horde, feelings were taboo, and she still had to shake that mentality. “Okay, so, yes. I did, before we were dating, I did say that. That I, at one point, loved Catra.”

“But what about now?”

Adora quirked a brow as she looked into the distance, trying to figure things out. 

“Well... like I said, I have this theory.” She eventually said. “If I’m looking at it how I feel, then maybe you can never stop loving someone. Or love who they used to be, or who they could become.”

“That is,  _ really _ sweet, Adora.” Glimmer smiled. “You’re such a sap!” Glimmer joked to cover up her own confusion. 

“Shut up, no I’m not!” Adora defended, turning bright red like a tomato and chucking a pillow at Glimmer. They collapsed into giggles, throwing pillows at each other until Adora was victorious over Glimmer. “I’m a tough badass warrior!”

“Okay fine, you aren’t a total lovesick, smitten, adorable sweetheart,” Glimmer conceded sarcastically. Adora stuck her tongue out at her.

“Well will you let me finish?”

“I’m in no position to argue!” Glimmer said. It was true, Adora was on top of her with a pillow between them that had struck the fatal blow in the pillow fight.

Adora got up and they both sat up again and Adora tried to remember where she was going with her train of thought before she got distracted by her amazing girlfriend. 

“Right. So you never stop loving somebody. Who they were, or who they could be, or who they are.” She re-summarized. “But I think that even with that... that you can fall in love more than one time. More than one way.” She continued nervously. “I think that there isn’t one kind of true love, you know?”

“So are you saying that... you do still love Catra?” It was a fear that she had had since they started dating. But now that Catra was staying and working here in the castle, she felt worried she might lose everything. 

Adora sighed and leaned back on her hands. 

“In the simplest terms... yes. But that doesn’t change the love that I feel for you. It’s not more or less, it’s just so different. And I don’t know how Catra feels or if it will ever mean anything. Maybe it will, it probably won’t. But that doesn’t matter. You do.”

“That’s... pretty deep. And a little surprising.” Glimmer said. 

*

Bow was pleasantly surprised when Catra seemed to know a few of the different types of food that were available to them in the kitchen, as opposed to Adora who was still confused how eggs could be cooked in so many different ways. The feline loaded her plate with scones, and then smeared them with jam, until she caught Bow smiling at her and her plate. 

“Uh, what?” She said accusingly. 

“Oh, nothing!” Bow defended. “It’s just, when Adora first joined the rebellion, she had no idea what any food was, but you’re a natural.” Catra rolled her eyes. 

“Don’t compare me to Adora. I’ve had my fill of that through my whole life.” She moved to go sit down, and Bow sat across from her with his own plate of salad with hard boiled eggs.

“Okay, sure!” He seemed a little too eager to make her happy, which obviously Catra caught on to. “Soooo what do you like to do for fun?”

Catra took a bite and glanced out the window as she thought about it. 

“I guess nap.” She eventually said. “And you know, whittling and stuff...” She admitted a little more shyly. “Why do you wanna know?”

“Well now that you’re staying in Bright Moon, we should try to merge you into the best friend squad!”

“Not happening.”

“Well, you also said that about joining the rebellion. Who knows.” 

Catra sighed. How did Adora handle someone this chipper. 

Nevertheless, she wanted to get to the bottom of his strange behaviors. 

“Well what do you guys normally do for fun.”

“We used to play board games, but Adora got way too competitive.. Sometimes we spar together. We don’t get a lot of free time together, usually someone is on a mission or something.”

“So you need a new friend so you don’t have to be the third wheel all the time.” Catra analyzed coolly, smirking at the boy. 

“Oh come on, it’s not like that!” Bow laughed, waving his fork around. 

“Alright, then what are we supposed to do when Glitter and Adora get all smoochy.” She pushed her empty plate forward. Bow got a mischievous look. 

“I think you are really going to like the archery range.”

Twenty minutes later found them at the range, Catra with her own practice bow, as Bow himself explained the safety precautions. She seemed doubtful, and impatient. Her ears were folded down under a safety hard hat, and he even made them both wear protective eye wear. The range was outdoors, and it was fair weather. 

“Are you sure this isn’t more for your benefit than mine?” 

“Hmm... why don’t you start by using this arrow.” He held out one of his own arrows to her, and she took it. “I think then, you might be convinced.”

Well, might as well get it over with. Then she could go back to napping in a nice patch of light. She knocked her arrow and drew it back flawlessly. Her lithe and athletic body had no difficulty learning the forms that Bow had demonstrated, and her posture was perfectly curved, but strong and taught. When she released the arrow, she watched it dart across the sandy field until it hit the ground most of the way to the target, and exploded on impact in a fiery ball. She jumped and her fur stood on end in alarm. 

“What was that!” She had seen the trick arrows before in combat, but wasn’t expecting Bow to break them out just for target practice. 

“This is where I come to test out my new prototype arrows!” Bow explained with excitement, his eyes still glowing from the delight of the explosion. Catra understood now why there was no grass here. “I thought you might enjoy blowing stuff up!”

She had to admit, the idea wasn’t unappealing. It was similar to one of the pass-times in the horde, a game called “grenade tennis” (figure that one out). And now that she knew what would be coming, she wasn’t bothered by the loud sounds. 

Bow drew back his trusty golden bow, and let an arrow fly across the field. It landed on target, and immediately incinerated it in a loud boom. 

“It helps to get the feel of them now rather than later when it could be life or death.” Bow explained. “Some are heavier than others depending on what I load them up with. So I practice my aim with the different effects. And of course, look for faults in the prototype that I could improve on.”

“Well, pass me another then.” Catra said eagerly. This time she didn’t hesitate to draw back and release, causing the arrow to fly away. It skidded along the ground at a very low angle, so there was no direct impact to set off the trigger. Which was disappointing. But Bow just made a note of it, and commented about some tweaks he could make to the design to improve. 

*

Adora admitted that she was ready. She wanted to try to get more intimate with Glimmer, and she wanted it to be with Glimmer for her first time more than anything. Their cheeks both flushed bright red at the thought. They kissed deeply, and prepared to go further. But as Adora’s hands roamed up Glimmer’s body, it was the princess who hesitated nervously. 

“What’s wrong, did I do something wrong?” Adora asked anxiously. Glimmer shook her head and sat up to hide her face in her hands; something that usually Adora was more guilty of. 

“No! God, no. I just didn’t realize before that I was actually nervous too!” She squeaked out. Adora smiled softly and tried to rub her girlfriend’s arm in comfort. Glimmer started laughing hysterically. “I mean, nobody has ever seen me naked before!” She laughed. Adora laughed too, and wrapped her in a hug. 

“Do, do you want to stop?” Adora asked, pulling her girlfriend’s hands away from her face so she could see her. She kissed each cheek (she liked symmetry) and held her hands. “We can wait longer, there’s no rush.”

“Oh, Adora,” She sighed happily. How had she gotten so lucky? Adora was the perfect girlfriend. So caring and thoughtful, so gentle. And god, the way she looked down at her right now, she was so beautiful, so radiant. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I’m the lucky one.” Adora asserted. 

“Oh, we’ll see about that. Come here!” She kissed Adora too fast for her to respond. 

*

When Catra and Bow started heading back to the castle, they were a bit more singed than they were when they had left. They laughed and playfully ribbed and shoved each other.

They separated to their guest rooms so that they could clean up a bit, with plans to meet up again soon and go over the specs of the tracker pad so that they could tweak it with Entrapta. 

Catra never liked bathing. She hated the wet feeling all over her fur, pulling it downward. She strongly disliked how frizzy her fur got afterwards. And she was never a fan of how it made her come face to face with her own body dysphoria. So, she learned quickly from a young age how to shower in no more than six minutes, with military efficiency in order to get it over with. There were times where she got out of the shower and half of her was still dry, untouched by soap or water. But she could live with that. 

She came around the corner of the hall that leads to Bow’s room when she was done, but quickly ducked back around behind the corner. She pressed up against the wall, out of sight, to listen to the conversation that Bow was having with the Queen. 

“As long as nobody got hurt,” The Queen said with a cautious smile. “I’m sure that a few explosions are good to get out of one’s system now and then.” 

“Yeah, we only stopped cause I ran out of arrows.” Bow said happily. 

_ Alright, he’s catching up with the Queen in passing. _ Catra thought.  _ Nothing wrong with that. No reason to get paranoid over nothing... but then, the Queen did want to talk to Bow privately after the meeting... _

Queen Angella was just about to tell Bow to keep up the good work, when Catra appeared in her vision from down the hall, and she cut herself off. 

“Ah, well, glad that you are settling in well, Catra.” She said instead. Bow turned around and gave her a thumbs up. Some of her suspicions returned, wondering what they thought of her or if they could be planning something that had to do with her without her knowledge of it. But as always, she tried to act more aloof than she felt. 

“Bowseph, you got the pad?”

“Again, that is not my name.” He said, suddenly serious. Angella, on the other hand, covered her giggle with a hand before she excused herself politely. 

When she went into Bow’s small, plain room, she stood next to him until they were mere inches apart. 

“What are you up to? Don't lie to me.” She whispered threateningly. Bow was utterly shocked, and backed up with his hands in the air. 

“Whoa, geez Catra! I’m not up to anything!”

Catra kept stalking towards him, causing Bow to back up more until he was against the wall. 

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden. And why are you meeting up with the Queen?”

Bow actually had the wherewithal to look slightly offended.

“Because we all live together!” He claimed. Okay, he may have had a point, they all kind of lived in the Queen’s massive house. But Catra wasn’t about to back down. That would only make her seem weak, or paranoid. 

“There’s something you’re not telling me! What is it that you want from me? Is it horde intel?”

“Okay, okay,  _ fine! _ ” Bow conceded at last, clutching his head and closing his eyes under the pressure from Catra. “I’ll tell you! The truth is... I want to be your friend!” He confessed. Catra’s expression went from one of suspicion and aggression to one of underwhelmed doubts. 

“What.” Her deadpan would have given Mermista a run for her money. 

“Okay hear me out,” Bow said, already regaining some of his enthusiasm. “I was hoping that maybe we could hang out more now that Adora and Glimmer are all... you know.” Catra rolled her eyes for the hundredth time that day. 

“You’re the third wheel, I called it.”

“But then I was thinking, you’re probably full of all kinds of good stories about Adora when she was young!” He continued. “She always so serious about her childhood, and I was dying to hear what it was like to grow up with her!” Catra’s ears pointed backwards and she crossed her arms. 

“I told you, I  _ don’t _ like being compared to Adora.”

“I know, I know that now. Because we bonded! I just thought you would love to take the opportunity to dish the details that Adora would never tell us, you know, all the embarrassing kid stuff. She's met our parents so she gets to hear embarrassing stuff about me and Glimmer but we don't know anyone from her past--until now!” 

Catra seemed to take that idea well, and turned it over in her mind a bit before a smile crept on her face as she recalled all the ammo she had against Adora. 

“But I get it, if you don’t want to talk about it. I get that it wasn’t all that great growing up and--”

“Oh, Bowseph.” Catra said, back to her friendly tone. “Why didn’t you just say so. This is gonna be so fun to use against Adora.” 

  
  


*

Adora and Glimmer came to the realization that they wanted to be more intimate with each other, but only when they were both sure they were ready to leave their comfort zone. And maybe that wasn’t now, but hopefully soon. In the meantime, they were content to continue what they had been doing, cuddling while they read. 

Adora woke up first. It was dark out, and they had accidentally fallen asleep. She looked down at the snoozing princess next to her, and her heart swelled. 

How had it taken so long for her to notice how beautiful she was? It took the most obvious hints in the world, Glimmer straight up confessing, for her to realize that they had both been mutually crushing on each other. But now, looking down, she wouldn’t have changed a thing. 

Glimmer was exactly what Adora needed in a partner. She was healing and supportive, but also feisty and fiery when she needed to be. She was the perfect niche to fill her need to be touched and around other people ever since she left her huge squad in the horde, and she missed being around people in a comfortable way. Even if she still saw everyone else at Bright Moon as comrades in a war, Glimmer was the exception. She was always the exception. 

She was the exception when it came to allowing herself to be vulnerable. When it came to talking about her feelings. When it came to allowing herself to ask for help. She was everything to Adora, she could have asked for anything and Adora would do it. Fortunately, Glimmer felt the same way in return. Adora could imagine that Glimmer might feel threatened by Catra's new presence, but knew that she wouldn't say anything about it. She was terrified of admitting to Glimmer that she still had (likely unrequited) feelings for Catra to her girlfriend. She hoped that it would only be temporary while she adjusted to Bright Moon, and hoped that they could become friends.

As much as she loved these quiet moments, Adora was hungry. She had the idea to sneak up and get some food, maybe surprise Glimmer with a treat in bed. But to her disappointment and delight, Glimmer lifted her head lazily as Adora tried to untangle herself. She smiled at the sparkly pink hair that seemed flattened against her head like she was a fairy as Glimmer blinked her sleep away.

“Oh shoot, did I fall asleep?” She grumbled drowsily. 

“Yeah.” Adora pecked her on the top of her head. “We both did.”

“Well I knew that you did.” She responded. “And I was gonna wake you up for later, but then it was so relaxing and I guess I nodded off too.” Adora planted another peck on Glimmer’s cheek.

“Let’s grab a little something to eat, then call it a night.”

“Sounds good to me.” 

*

“Now way!” Bow shrieked with laughter, clutching his sides and kicking his legs off his bar stool. Catra sat next to him, drinking some milk, and leaning on the counter with a victorious and mischievous grin. 

“It’s true. I couldn’t get her to go near the showers for weeks.” She goaded on, laughing herself. 

Then, the door opened, and they saw Glimmer and Adora entering. 

“Oh, hey guys.” Adora said. “Glad you two are getting along.”

Glimmer started some tea while Adora went to open the fridge and Catra and Bow struggled to contain their laughing fit. They both gave up at the same time, bursting into hysterics, causing the couple to glance at them with curiosity. 

“Adora, I can’t believe you were afraid of water!” Bow burst out. Adora paled and shut the fridge. 

“I-- come on! I was like six! Catra!”

But it was no use, the two were in uncontrollable fits of giggles, and even Glimmer joined in. 

“Wait, why were you afraid of water?” Glimmer asked. 

“Because she threw up in the pool on the day we went to learn how to swim, and then for weeks being near water made her feel sick!” Catra explained. And now the whole group, sans Adora, were laughing at the cute image of baby Adora clawing her way out of the showers. 

“Catra!” Adora whined. But even she was cracking a smile, even if it was at her own expense. 

“Oh you guys should have seen her!” Catra said. “She didn’t shower for two weeks! Shadow Weaver kept trying to force her in, but eventually Lonnie got a hose and just chased her around the barracks!” Another roar of laughter came out of Glimmer and Bow. They could just imagine her little toddler legs running as fast as they could to outrun the rest of the squad as they played with the hose, soaking the whole barracks with their rough-housing.

“Oh sure laugh it up.” Adora conceded. “But this is all coming from the one who showers half dry! I’m not the only one who avoided showers.” She playfully punched Catra's shoulder. 

And just like that, Catra seamlessly became a part of the group. It was like she had always been there, joking and being friendly with the two of them just like she did with Adora. They went on missions together and worked as a cohesive unit, flowing like four parts of a well-oiled machine. She perfectly rounded out their skill sets: Bow was ranged attack, She-Ra was the powerhouse, Glimmer was magic, and Catra was the sneaky, stealthy element. 

She spent time mainly with Adora, being overly affectionate with their touches just like old times, and when she didn’t she was usually with Bow. They ended up having a few common interests that they could talk about. Even Glimmer looked to Catra whenever she needed some insight on either a battle plan or what to do about Adora. 

And if Catra still had (likely unrequited) feelings for Adora, then she didn’t mind. Having this close of a connection was close enough. It hurt to see her with Glimmer, but Catra took the compromise in exchange for being friends with Adora again, better than they ever were before. All she knew was that she could not handle going back to being enemies again; so she kept a respectful distance.

The work with the alliance wasn’t half bad, either. She kept working on her project to free the horde soldiers slowly and steadily. She started to learn more about how to work the most efficiently with the other princesses as they learned to work together. Even though she despised all things having to do with water, she got along well with Mermista’s sarcasm and style tips, and learned how to paint her claws a sleek, shiny black. 

It was even easier to command here than it ever was in the horde. It was almost like, in the horde she had to constantly be looking over her shoulder. But here, even if someone did envy her position, she couldn’t be replaced. Her intel and input were valued. It was weird, but she was careful not to let it get to her head, and tried to stay modest. She had realized during her “figuring stuff out” phase in the woods that she didn’t want attention or glory, she just wanted to start by making decisions that would let her sleep at night. 

And some of those nights found her in Adora’s bed. Sometimes Adora would be there, sometimes she would be in Glimmer’s room and Catra would still sleep there anyway. She wasn’t sure why. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UP NEXT IN THE SERIES: a collection of cute fun one shots with the new and improved Best Friend Squad!! Stay tuned!!

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment with your thoughts.


End file.
